That's according to Jim Sanders, the outgoing executive director of the Alaska Workforce Investment Board, which was formed under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.

The act, which provided a framework for states to promote education and workforce training, was the building block for the investment board, Sanders said. He noted that the legislation was part of an ongoing federal effort to match future employees with the training demanded by potential employers.

"The federal government has a long history of workforce development and training," Sanders said. "This is the continuation of that evolution of trying to provide employers with a trained workforce."

The investment board started as an oversight council that advised the governor on state and federally-funded education and vocational job training. Under the new division, the board still holds its independence, but the executive director will report to the commissioner of the Department of Labor, said Katherine Farnham, who is filling Sanders' position.

Farnham has also been selected to serve as the director of the Division of Business Partnerships. As such, she said she will participate in a statewide effort to grow the Alaska workforce from the ground up.

"I see such potential for us to really work and increase the educational and training levels of the workforce within the state," she said.

The Workforce Investment Act required training and employment programs to be designed and managed at a local level, and dictated increased accountability for education through the funding of "one stop" training centers.

Farnham said the new division will work with the Workforce Investment Board to implement a strategy that will help the state meet those mandates.

"They've done a lot to make this an important agenda," she said. "The goal is to invest in human capital with the same rigor and focus on education and training as we always have. We're going to do that by utilizing federal, state and community resources and investments."

The division, Farnham said, will make sure that training programs meet employer's needs and desires, and that the educational facilities are available to serve the people that most need them.

Part of that work will involve implementing a three-fold strategy developed by the Workforce Investment Board. That group is currently spearheading efforts to compile an inventory of every education facility in the state so that people can find the institutions; put together a list of employers and individuals who are looking for a trained workforce, along with a list of criteria that workers must meet; and map all the existing resources into one guide.

Farnham said the strategy was a "proactive" example for the division, as it begins its efforts to oversee the training of Alaska's workforce.

"We are going to bring together all this expertise to consult both the workers and the employers," she said. "One of the biggest issues we face right now is creating an industry-standards-based education."

Rural communities, she said, need help with their methods of training workers to meet industry-dictated standards. Adding career relevance to state education is among the first priorities for the new division, Farnham said. She added that it's part of a state initiative to encourage movement through education and employment.

"Sometimes people don't know how to move from high school to vocational school, or secondary school, and on to a career," she said. "We're hoping to encourage that sort of lateral movement."

While the Workforce Investment Board and Division of Business Partnerships will maintain their individual identities, they will work closely together and with Department of Labor Commissioner Greg O'Claray to share resources and coordinate their efforts, Farnham said.